Today I had my first meeting with a client who wants me to be a blogging consultant for his small service firm.
I've agreed and have taken some time to get back to him with a pricing model for my services.
That's the biggest challenge I am facing these days. How do you bill for a service that is so different, and which is a hobby for most people (me included) ? In fact Hugh nails it in this cartoon.
Current thoughts are to bill a certain amout for time spent over the next six months and to ask for a share of additional business they will get as a a result of the blog being there.
Anyone has a better idea?
Digg into the performancing.com archives and you are sure to find some good clues.
ReplyDeleteI prefer project based budgets for everyone. Consulting fees by the hour can work for large corporations, but be careful who you start to work with.
ReplyDeleteYou will not have the time to both educate and bill. If you find yourself having to explain the basics of browsing, wave off the engagement.
You're looking for people who like blogging and want to do more with it. Just my two cents...
That's a pleasent problem all right. Wonder what exactly the job description and qualifications would be and the code of ethics like in other professions.
ReplyDeleteHow would you justify the ROI he makes on you.If the firm is an Indian one, where corporate blogging is yet to make an impact,I will be curious to know how you have your pricing model. The reach, clicks,sales,information...I'd really be interested to know how this shapes up.Perhaps, you could follow the partnership model as done by the Big consultants.That'll get you credibility and eliminate any doubts that your client might have.All the best
ReplyDeleteG - Steve Rubel's post today on Blog Reach might have some interesting ideas on metrics.
ReplyDeleteHere it is:
T"wo studies were recently released about blog readership that are worth pointing to...
The first, from Charlene Li at Forrester, notes that 24% of Gen Yers read blogs. This is twice as high as the 12% of Gen Xers and three times the 7% of Young Boomers (ages 41-50) that read blogs. Charlene says "skeptics of blogs should suspend their disbelief and look to at least one bellweather demographic to get an idea of how widespread blog readership can potentially grow in the future."
The second tracks the impact of blogs on B2B brands. The study, conducted by KnowledgeStorm and Universal McCann, found blogs have made inroads into B2B technology companies with more than 53 percent of respondents saying the content they read in blogs has an impact on their work-related purchasing decisions. Some 80 percent of respondents say they read blogs, with 51 saying they read them at least once a week. "
I think that you should think about both process and results metrics. It would be interesting to look at impact on sales/rev, etc. after 6 months, but maybe from a process perspective you could propose metrics like attracting certain customer segments to comment and collaborate - based on customer experience strategy. Impact potentially on brand awareness - does the company measure and then how can the blog impact that. It goes back to what are you defining as the purpose of blog and what do you want it do...Good luck, sounds fun...
i have an idea,bill them like an ad agency.have a fixed amount for intial number of hits and later based on Hits the blog genarated.if you were outsorced to write a blog for them.
ReplyDeletefor consulting on blogs, you better have knolwdge on recruitment ad agencys pricing model
my two cents
sivamangesh
price it on a combination of man hours , resources utilized on cost basis and tangible yield( p&l impact). Take a 25% to start, 25% half way through and the rest on completion. everything on a legal agreement ( P&L impact too)
ReplyDeleteI've got a fairly lengthy article on setting consulting fee rates on my site. I outline some of the models consultants use to price their services. Perhaps it would help you figure out a model for your own services, or at least serve as a jumping off point.
ReplyDelete